Control system and user interface for network of input devices

ABSTRACT

Apparatus, methods, and systems for centrally and uniformly controlling the operation of a variety of devices, such as communication, consumer electronic, audio-video, analog, digital, 1394, and the like, over a variety of protocols within a network system and, more particularly, a control system and uniform user interface for centrally controlling these devices in a manner that appears seamless and transparent to the user. In a preferred embodiment, a command center or hub of a network system includes a context and connection permutation sensitive control system that enables centralized and seamless integrated control of all types of input devices. The control system preferably includes a versatile icon based graphical user interface that provides a uniform, on-screen centralized control system for the network system. The user interface, which includes a visual recognition system, enables the user to transparently control multiple input devices over a variety of protocols while operating on a single control layer of an input command device. In an alternative embodiment, the control system also enables gated signal pass-through control while avoiding signal jamming.

CROSS-REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/138,690, filed May 2, 2002, which claims the benefit of U.S.provisional application Ser. No. 60/288,317, filed May 3, 2001, whichare incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the field of consumer electronics systems and,more particularly, to apparatus, methods, and systems for centrallycontrolling the operation of devices within a network of consumerelectronics systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The United States and other countries are quickly transitioning todigital television (DTV) to take advantage of high definition TVbroadcasts. The US, in particular, is slowly moving away from and willultimately abandon the analog television system. According to currenttimelines, the US government is calling for the termination of analog TVbroadcasts by the year 2006. The use of an analog TV will require theaddition of set-top-box down-converters to change the digital broadcaststo the lower-performance analog format such TVs were designed toreceive.

Accompanying the transition to DTV is the integration of the IEEE 1394digital home-networking technology. IEEE 1394 enables DTV and otherdigital devices of consumer electronics systems that incorporate IEEE1394 to connect and communicate via single cables (FireWire®) that carrydigital video, digital audio, and system control data. A home networksystem comprising such integrated devices eliminates the myriad ofcables and connectors and separate remotes currently necessary tointerconnect and control electronic devices for a home theater system.With IEEE1394 technology, the DTV or some other primary video displayunit (PDCU) can be engineered to be the command center of a digital homenetwork system.

However, IEEE 1394 by itself provides no way to control conventionallywired, IR signal controlled, analog audio-video (AV) devices (IRCdevices), such as analog VCRs, DVD players, cable and satellite boxes,and AV receivers, and does nothing to eliminate the myriad of cables,connectors and remotes necessary to connect and control a mixed analogand digital home theater network system. The interconnection and controlof such systems can be quite complex and unwieldy. For example, simplyswitching from a cable broadcast to playing a movie on a DVD player mayinvolve numerous device specific remote controls and several iterationsthrough the different layers of control on such remotes. Such a task mayrequire the user to switch between video inputs on the TV, switchbetween layers on a TV remote control to power on and play the DVDplayer, and then, if the user has an AV receiver (AVR), switch betweenlayers on the TV remote and shut down the audio output from the TV andswitch to an AVR remote control to power up and output audio through theAVR or, if the AVR is the current audio output device, use the AVRremote control to switch between AVR inputs to output the DVD player'saudio from the AVR. Completing such tasks is often fraught withfrustration especially when the user is not immediately successful inbeing able to watch and listen to a movie being played on the DVDplayer.

Thus, it is desirous to be able to centrally and seamlessly control avariety of electronic devices over a variety of protocols from a singleinput device and provide an easy to use user interface (UI) wherein thecomplexities of the control of such devices is transparent to the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present inventions comprise novel apparatus, methods,and systems for centrally and uniformly controlling the operation of avariety of devices over a variety of protocols within a network systemand, more particularly, a control system and uniform user interface forcentrally controlling these devices in a manner that appears seamlessand transparent to the user. For example, in an entertainment system ora home theater network system (HTNS) comprising a mix of analog IRcontrolled (IRC) and digital 1394 audio-video (AV) devices, control andoperation of the IRC and 1394 versions of an AV device appears the sameto the user.

In a preferred embodiment, a HTNS in accordance with the presentinvention comprises a primary display and control unit (PDCU) and a mixof IRC and 1394 AV devices and other inputs. The PDCU may comprise an AVsystem such as a television and, preferably, a digital television (DTV),having appropriate circuitry and programmable logic for operation of acontrol system in accordance with the present invention. Alternatively,the PDCU may comprise a primary display unit such as a TV or a “dumb”monitor or display, and a dedicated controller or computer housed in aseparate chassis from the primary display unit and comprisingappropriate programmable logic for operation of a control system inaccordance with the present invention. Preferably, the PDCU includesseveral I/O ports to which external or peripheral devices, such as theIRC and 1394 AV devices, may be coupled.

Numerous possible configurations of a HTNS in accordance with thepresent invention are possible. For example, the HTNS may comprisenumerous IRC and 1394 devices and other system inputs interconnected ina variety of ways to one another and to the PDCU. Preferably, the PDCUintegrates IEEE 1394 and EIA-775 technology as well as the Home AudioVideo Interoperability (HAVi) networking software technology and AV/C,which compliment the IEEE 1394 technology. The 1394 devices arepreferably connected in series and/or in parallel to the PDCU across1394 cable, while the IRC devices are connected to the PDCU in parallelacross conventional AV cables and controlled across IR blaster cables.The IR blaster cables enable messages or commands comprising devicespecific IR codes to be communicated to the IRC devices.

In one innovative aspect of the present invention, the PDCU includes acontext sensitive control system that enables centralized and seamlessintegrated control of both 1394 and IRC-type devices, as well asinternal TV-type inputs and other input devices and system hardwareinterconnected to the PDCU. As such, the PDCU is the command center orhub of the HTNS or other network systems that may comprise, in additionto entertainment AV type devices, home appliances and home lighting,heating, air conditioning, security-type systems, and the like. Thecontrol system preferably includes a control module that is capable ofinterpreting an input command such as an event signal from a systemremote, determining what action needs to take place, for example,navigate through menus on the screen of the PDCU or operate an attachedAV device, determining what devices to connect and how to connect them,and then preparing and sending device appropriate messages or commandsto the input devices. Preferably, for supported IRC devices, the controlmodule includes a library of IR codes and is capable of translating ainput command, such as a digital input command, into a messagecomprising IR codes from the IR code library appropriate for the device,and then blasting the command message to the IRC device to drive the IRCdevice. The control system of the present invention may also be capableof learning and/or uploading IR code of a variety of IRC devices. Allsuch operations, however, are advantageously transparent to the consumeror user.

In another innovative aspect of the present invention, the controlsystem includes a versatile icon based graphical user interface (UI) toprovide a uniform, on-screen centralized control system for the networksystem. The UI enables the user to transparently control multiple inputdevices such as internal TV-type devices, AV devices, and other inputdevices over different protocols while operating on a single layer of asystem remote control, e.g., the TV layer of a universal TV remote. Forexample, operation of an IRC DVD player and a 1394 DVD player appearsidentical to the user. The UI also advantageously provides on-screen,real time visual recognition of the state of the system, deviceavailability, operation or connection options, active connections,navigation, and the like.

In operation, the user selects the “device” button on the remote, whichcauses the control system to display a device selection menu on thescreen of the PDCU. The device selection menu preferably comprises adevice window, a video window, an audio window, and, when a recording orother peer-to-peer connection is active, a connection window. The usernext navigates through the device selection window and highlights adevice icon, such as a VCR icon, to play a movie on the VCR. The usermay move or jump to an audio selection window and highlight an AVreceiver (AVR) icon for audio output from an AVR. Selection of the VCRand AVR from the device selection menu by pressing the “enter” or someother appropriate key on the system remote control while thecorresponding icons are highlighted (selected), causes the controlsystem to perform all necessary switching, make all necessaryconnections and display a transport menu on the screen of the PDCU. Thetransport menu is a device control menu preferably comprising deviceappropriate control function buttons such as “play”, “FF”, “RW”, and thelike. Alternatively, device specific control menus, i.e., devicesupplied, may be displayable and operable through the control system ofthe present invention. Lastly, the user selects the play button in thetransport menu by pressing the “enter” or “play” buttons on the systemremote control to play the movie. The steps taken by a user would be thesame whether the device is an IRC or a 1394 device. As noted above, thecontrol system interprets and acts on the user's selections, performingall necessary switching and making all necessary connections, in amanner that is transparent to the user.

A further innovative aspect of the present invention includes theconnection permutation sensitivity of the control system. In particular,once a device such as the VCR is selected, the control system willautomatically control it and the rest of HTNS based on stored device anddevice connection configuration data. For instance, if the VCR isconnected to both an AVR and the PDCU, wherein the audio from VCR is tobe outputted by the AVR while the video is outputted by the PDCU, uponselection of the VCR and AVR, the control system will automatically turnoff the audio output from the PDCU and turn on the AVR to output theaudio from the VCR when the VCR or switch inputs within the AVR if it isthe current audio output or sink device. Thus, the control systemhandles all of the necessary switching transparently to the user. Thissituation dependent, context sensitive method tends to be superior tothe “macro” command capability of some remotes because the controlsequences of the control system are not dependent on the network devicesbeing in a particular state at the beginning of the sequence. Further,this aspect of the control system enables seamless peer-to-peercommunication and operation such as recording between devices even whenthe PDCU is not physically involved in the connection.

In yet another innovative aspect of the present invention, the controlsystem includes a configuration setup subsystem. It provides users withthe capability to setup the configuration or device interconnections ofthe network system in a first time out of the box initial setup mode orthe capability to change/modify/delete existing configurations in anedit mode. In the initial setup mode, the user is provided with apre-set configuration of IRC device input connections on the PDCU andinstructed to connect the IRC devices to the PDCU accordingly. The userthen logs in each IRC device within the network system and the controlsystem builds a device list and device connection database. If thenetwork system includes IRC devices interconnected to the PDCU throughother input connections, the user may enter the edit mode of thesubsystem to customize the input connections of such devices as well asdelete individual device or entire system configuration data. Thenavigation through the configuration setup subsystem is text and screendriven. In an alternative, navigation through the configuration setupsubsystem may be by voice recognition or the configuration setupsubsystem may be graphically driven.

In yet another innovative aspect, the control system preferably enablesIR signal pass-through control of non-supported IRC devices within thenetwork system, while avoiding IR signal jamming. Avoidance of IR signaljamming may be accomplished by appropriate signal transmission gappingcontrol or through a gated control system. Preferably, the gatedpass-through control system includes a gate mechanism that controls thepass-through of IR signals to the non-supported IRC devices. An IRCdevice controller, which is adapted to translate remote commands intomessages containing device appropriate IR code for supported IRCdevices, controls the operation of the gate. As such, the IRC controllerpreferably maintains the gate in a closed state as the IRC controllertransmits device specific IR code messages to supported devices. Whensuch transmissions are complete, the IRC controller may transition thegate to an open state to allow IR signals to freely pass tonon-supported devices.

Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparentfrom consideration of the following description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a device interconnectconfiguration for a home theater network system of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2A is a schematic showing an example of a home theater networksystem of the present invention comprising a television having a varietyof IRC and 1394 AV devices connected to the television. A graphical userinterface of the control system of the present invention is shown on thedisplay of the television providing visual recognition of the currentsystem state, user navigation through device and audio menus, deviceconnection options, and active device connections.

FIG. 2B is a schematic showing the home theater network system providedin FIG. 2A. The graphical user interface of the control system shown onthe display of the television provides visual recognition of currentsystem state, user navigation through device and audio menus, deviceconnection options, and active device connections.

FIG. 2C is a schematic showing the home theater network system providedin FIG. 2A. The graphical user interface of the control system shown onthe display of the television provides visual recognition of currentsystem state, user navigation through device and audio menus, deviceconnection options, and active device connections.

FIG. 2D is a schematic showing the home theater network system providedin FIG. 2A. The graphical user interface of the control system shown onthe display of the television provides a device appropriate control(transport) menu for operation of a selected device.

FIG. 2E is a schematic showing the home theater network system providedin FIG. 2A. The graphical user interface of the control system shown onthe display of the television provides PIP device connection options.

FIG. 2F is a graphical representation of a preferred embodiment of thegraphical user interface of the control system of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a schematic of a remote control and a television inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3B is a schematic of the remote control and an alternativeembodiment of the television shown in FIG. 3 a including IR pass-throughcircuitry.

FIG. 3C is a schematic of a remote control and a primary display andcontrol unit in accordance with the present invention comprising atelevision and a separate HTNS controller.

FIG. 3D is a schematic of a remote control and a primary display andcontrol unit in accordance with the present invention comprising amonitor or display and a separate HTNS controller.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a remote control for the home theater networksystem of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic of a control system for the home theater networksystem of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic of a user interface module of the control systemof the present invention.

FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a device log in menu for a setupconfiguration subsystem of the present invention.

FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a preferred embodiment of the device log inmenu.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a device connection review menu for thesetup configuration subsystem.

FIG. 9A is a diagram showing a finish menu for the setup configurationsubsystem.

FIG. 9B is a diagram showing an edit menu for the setup configurationsubsystem.

FIG. 9C is a diagram showing a device connection customization menu forthe setup configuration subsystem.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a menu for initiating recording orpeer-to-peer connections.

FIG. 11A is a schematic of an IR signal pass-through and control systemof the present invention.

FIG. 11B is a schematic of an alternate embodiment of the IR signalpass-through and control system.

FIG. 12 is a schematic of a remote control and television for the hometheater network system of the present invention with an IR pass-throughand control system incorporated therein.

FIG. 13 is a schematic of a control system for the home theater networksystem of the present invention with an IR pass through and controlsystem incorporated therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring in detail to the figures, novel apparatus, methods, andsystems for centrally and uniformly controlling the operation of avariety of devices over a variety of protocols within a network systemare described. In particular, a control system and user interface thatprovide uniform, seamless and transparent centralized control of anetwork of devices over a variety protocols are described. It will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that numerous configurations of anetwork system in accordance with the present invention are possible.For example, a network system may comprise a mix of communicationdevices, consumer electronic systems, audio/video (AN) devices, high andlow speed devices, analog and digital devices, globally and locallycontrolled devices, and AV and non-AV devices, and the like, and maycomprise both analog IR controlled and digital 1394 AV and otherinput-type devices. For exemplary purposes only, the apparatus, systemsand methods in accordance with the present inventions will be describedprimarily in the context of a Home Theater Network System (HTNS).

In a preferred embodiment, a HTNS in accordance with the presentinvention comprises a primary display and control unit (PDCU), whichfunctions as the hub or command center of the HTNS, and a mix of IRcontrolled (analog) and 1394 (digital) AV devices, and other inputs. TheAV devices and other inputs may be interconnected in a variety of waysto each other and to the PDCU. The PDCU preferably includes anintegrated control system with a graphical user interface (UI) formaking connections between components of the HTNS and controlling theiroperation. The control system provides the user with centralized controlof all of the supported devices in the HTNS and, in an alternativeembodiment, enables pass-through control of non-supported devices whileavoiding signal jamming.

Preferably, the PDCU comprises an AV system such as a television and,more preferably, a digital television (DTV), comprising appropriatecircuitry and programmable logic for operation of a control system inaccordance with the present invention. Alternatively, the PDCU maycomprise a primary display unit such as a TV or a “dumb” monitor ordisplay, and a dedicated controller or a computer housed in a separatechassis from the primary display unit and comprising appropriateprogrammable logic for operation of a control system in accordance withthe present invention. For exemplary purposes only, however, thedescription that follows primarily describes the present inventions withregard to a DTV.

Preferably, the control system of the present invention integrates IEEE1394 and EIA-775 technology as well as the Home Audio VideoInteroperability (HAVi) networking software technology and AV/C, whichcompliment IEEE 1394 technology. The control system also preferablyincorporates a bi-directional 1394 bus interface, which is compliantwith IEEE 1394-1995 and IEC 61883-1, exchanges MPEG-2 video with otherdevices in accordance with IEC 61883-4, at HD and SD resolutions asdescribed in IEC61883-2, 3, 4, and exchanges digital audio as describedin IEC 61883-6, which specifications are all incorporated herein byreference. The control system also preferably functions as a 1394 buscycle master, as defined in IEEE 1394-1995 8.3.1.4, a bus manager, asdefined in IEEE 1394-1995 8.3.1.6, and an isochronous resource manager,as defined in IEEE 1394-1995 8.3.1.5, provides higher-level 1394interfaces to open cable and other AV/C devices as defined in EIA-775A,and conforms to Profile B of 775A subscriber devices, whichspecifications are all incorporated herein by reference. Althoughcapable of being configured to do so, the control system will preferablynot respond to any type of 1394 commands from other 1394 devices, in anyprotocol, and preferably does not conform to the HAVi Display FunctionalModule. The control system's Config ROM and SDD preferably identifiesitself to other bus members that it does not support those sub-unitstandards. In addition, the PDCU is preferably a full AN device (FAV) asdescribed in the HAVi 1.0 Specification, which specification isincorporated herein by reference.

Turning to FIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of a HTNS 10 in accordancewith the present invention is shown comprising one of numerous possibledevice connection configurations. As the hub of the HTNS 10, the DTV 12of the present of invention comprises a control system, withcapabilities as discussed above and in greater detail below, thatprovides seamless integrated control of the entire supported HTNS 10.Like conventional TVs, the DTV 12 includes a screen 11 with main 13 andsub 14 (e.g., PIP, POP, etc.) video outputs, audio output 15 and acontrol panel 16 and numerous I/O ports to which input devices may beconnected, and is preferably adapted to be controlled remotely by IRsignals transmitted from a remote control device 20. Alternatively, theDTV 12 may be adapted to be controlled remotely by wireless RFtransmissions, by voice commands via a voice recognition system, througha dial up modem connection, through an internet connection, through aUSB connection using a keyboard or mouse, and the like.

In accordance with the present invention, the HTNS 10, as depicted,includes a plurality of IR controlled (IRC) devices 30, 1394 devices 40,including AV and others 1394 devices, and other inputs such as a PC 221,antennas 17 and the like, interconnected to the DTV 12 and one another.The 1394 devices 40 are preferably connected in series and/or inparallel to the DTV 12 across 1394 cable 49, while the IRC devices 30are connected to the DTV 12 in parallel across conventional AV cables 31and controlled in parallel across IR transmission (blaster) cables 38.The IR blaster cables 38 enable messages or commands comprising devicespecific IR codes to be communicated to the IRC devices 30. The DTV 12preferably includes a library of device specific IR codes for supporteddevices and a control system that is capable of translating a inputcommand (digital or analog) from the remote control 20 into a deviceappropriate message comprising device specific IR codes, which is thencommunicated to the IRC device 30 to control and operate or drive theIRC device 30.

As depicted, the IRC input devices 30 may include such devices as acable box 18, a digital broadcast satellite tuner (DBS) 32, a videocassette recorder (VCR) 33, a digital video disk player (DVD) 34 and thelike, connected to the DTV 12 across AV cable 31 such that the audio andvideo outputs, or, optionally, just video output, from these devices maybe inputted to the DTV 12. The IRC input devices may also include suchdevices as a IRC AV receiver (AVR) 37 with audio output from the DTV 12being directed to the AVR 37 across an AV cable 31. Although capable ofoutputting video to the DTV 12, the AVR 37 is preferably not configuredto output video to the DTV 12. With an AVR 37 included in the HTNS 10,the DBS 32, VCR 33 and DVD 34, or other IRC AV devices 35 and 36, suchas a second VCR, a DVD and the like, may be connected to the AVR 37 andthe DTV 12 such that their video outputs are directed to the DTV 12 andtheir audio outputs are directed to the AVR 37. In the alternative,although not preferred, these devices may just be connected to the AVR37 with both their audio and video outputs directed to the AVR 37.

As indicated above, the IRC devices 30 are controlled and operatedacross IR blaster cables 38. The IR blaster cables 38 of the presentinvention preferably comprise an electrical cable with an IR emitterconnected to one end and a mini-plug for connection to the DTV 12 on theother end of the cable. The IR emitter, which is preferably L-shaped, ispreferably placed in front of or glued onto the IR detector of each IRCdevice 30 to communicate device specific IR code based messages to theIRC device 30. The IR emitter may include an opaque backing, which mayblock IR transmissions from other sources such as the remote. Theblaster cable may, in the alternative, include a second mini-pluginstead of an IR emitter for IRC devices 30 that have IR ports insteadof or in addition to an IR detector.

As depicted, the 1394 devices 40 may include such devices as a digitalVCR (D-VCR) 41, a digital camcorder 42, a digital DVD (D-DVD) 43, adigital AV (D-AV) disc player 44, a digital AVR (D-AVR) 45, a digital(D-) cable or satellite receiver 46, and the like, or other 1394compatible systems or devices 47 and 48 such as home appliances and homelighting, heating, air conditioning and security-type systems, and thelike. The 1394 devices 40 may include HAVi-type 1394 devices and may beinterconnected to the DTV 12 and one another in series or parallelacross 1394 cable 49.

As shown in FIGS. 2A-2F, the DTV 12 of the HTNS 10 includes a controlsystem comprising an on-screen, graphical user interface (UI) 50. The UI50 and control system preferably include a device selection menu 52preferably comprising graphically representative, on-screen displayableicons corresponding to the supported devices of the HTNS 10, audio andvideo input options, device output destinations, active “in-use” deviceconnections, and the like. The icons are preferably labeled with user Upreferred names corresponding to the device. Operation and control ofthe supported HTNS 10 through the UI 50 is seamless such that thecontrol of a IRC VCR 33 and a 1394 VCR 41 appears identical to the userU.

The device selection menu 52 of the present invention preferablyincludes a device selection window (device window) 60, a video window70, an audio selection window (audio window) 80, and, if a recording orother peer-to-peer connection is active, a connection window 90, whichare preferably labeled “DEVICE”, “VIDEO”, “AUDIO” and “CONNECTION”,respectively. As depicted, the device window 60 is preferably locatedtoward the bottom of the screen 11, while the video 70, audio 80, andconnection 90 windows are preferably located toward the top of thescreen with the video and connection windows 70 and 90 located towardthe upper left corner and the audio window 80 toward the upper rightcorner. One of skill in the art would recognize that the deviceselection menu 52 may include any number of windows and is not limitedto the device, video, audio and connection windows 60, 70, 80 and 90discussed above or their orientation or location on the screen.

Icons corresponding to the IRC and 1394 input devices 30 and 40, such asa DBS tuner icon 61, an antenna icon 62, a VCR icon 63, a DVD icon 64, ageneric IRC AV device icon 65, a D-VHS VCR icon 66, a D-cable orsatellite receiver icon 67, a D-DVD icon 68, a D-AV disc icon 69, andthe like are displayed in the device window 60 as AV source or inputdevice options. An icon 72 corresponding to the TV video icon 72 isdisplayed in the video window 70. If other video sink or video outputdisplay devices are incorporated within the HTNS 10, icons correspondingthereto may preferably be displayed in the video window 70 or as part ofa pull down menu. Icons corresponding to the audio sink or audio outputdevices, such as the TV audio icon 82, an IRC AVR icon 84 and a 1394 AVRicon 86, are displayed in the audio window 80. If a recording or otherpeer-to-peer connection is active, icons corresponding to thedestination or sink devices, such as the VCR icon 92 as shown in FIG. 2Bor the D-VHS VCR and AV Disc icons as shown in FIG. 2F, are displayed inthe connection window 90. The windows may be configured to display alldevice icons at once or, as preferred, configured to limit the displayto a subset of all of the icons in an initial view with windowscrolling, paging or pull-down capabilities to view the remaining icons.

Incorporated within the UI 50 is an intuitive, on-screen, head-up,real-time visual recognition system. The visual recognition systempreferably visually communicates to the user U the current system stateincluding active “in-use” connections, input device options, audiooutput options, video destinations and output options, peer-to-peerconnections, and navigation selections as the user U operates thecontrols on the remote 20 or control panel 16 and displays or navigatesthrough the device selection menu 52. The visual recognition system ofthe present invention may employ a variety of visual display indicatorssuch as highlighting the exterior of the icon with light, differentcolors, different line types or the like, changing the icon color, fillpattern, or the like, graying or crossing out the icon, providingtextual indicators, and the like, to visually indicate the systemstatus, input and connection options, destinations, navigation,peer-to-peer connections and the like. In a preferred embodiment, thestates or conditions of visual recognition include “disabled”, “currentdevice” and “current menu selected icon” (or menu location), and morepreferably: (1) current menu selected icon and current source or sinkdevice (primary and secondary highlighting); (2) current menu selectedicon and not current source or sink device (primary highlighting); (3)not current menu selected icon and current source or sink device(secondary highlighting); (4) not current menu selected icon and notcurrent source or sink device (no highlighting); (5) not available ordisabled (tertiary highlighting, e.g., grayed out). The icons themselvesmay be configured to convey additional information such as power state,channel, transport state or action (e.g., a dynamic motion iconindicating the device is playing), and the like.

Referring to FIGS. 2A-2C, an example of the visual recognition subsystemis depicted. A primary highlight, shown as a bold outline about theD-VHS VCR and D-AVR icons 66 and 86 in FIG. 2A, the IRC AV device and TVaudio icons 65 and 82 in FIG. 2B, and the DVD and AVR icons 64 and 84 inFIG. 2C, may be used to indicate the currently selected icon whilenavigating through the device and audio windows 60 and 70. If theconnection window is made navigable, a bold outline about an icon inthat window may be used to indicate the current menu selected connectionicon for possible connection cancellation. A secondary highlight, shownas a cross-hatch within the D-VHS VCR, TV video, and D-AVR icons 66, 72and 86, may be used to indicate the current AV source device, thecurrent video sink device and the current audio sink device. A tertiaryhighlight, shown as a graying-out of the DBS tuner and AVR icons 61 and84 in FIG. 2A and the DBS tuner and D-AVR icons 61 and 86 in FIGS.2B-2C, may be used to indicate that a particular device is unavailableor disabled. No highlighting, however, may be used to indicate a deviceis connected to the HTNS 10 and available for operation and connectionto other devices, but is not the current source or sink device or menuselected device icon. In addition, primary highlighting, shown as a boldoutline about device window 60 in FIGS. 2A-2B and audio window 80 inFIG. 2C, may be used to indicate the window in which the user iscurrently navigating.

Turning to FIG. 2F, a preferred embodiment of the UI 1050 of the presentinvention, with its device selection menu 1052 and visual recognitionsubsystem, is shown displayed on a screen 1011 of a DTV or some otherprimary display unit, The UI 1050 preferably includes device specificgraphically representative and appropriately labeled icons correspondingto the supported devices connected to the HTNS, the video sink or outputdevice, the active connections, and the audio sink or output devices.For example, the icon 1061 a for a DBS tuner includes a picture of asatellite dish and a name label 1061 b of “DBS”. Similarly, icons forantennas preferably include a picture of an antenna, VCR iconspreferably include a picture of a cassette tape, video camera iconspreferably include a picture of a camera, AV receiver icons preferablyinclude a picture of a stereo, TV icons preferably include a picture ofa TV, and the like. In addition to a device name label 1061 b, the iconmay include a device type label such as a 1394 label 1063 a or a HAVilabel 1063 b.

As part of the device selection menu 1052, the icons are preferablydisplayed within a device selection window 1060 that includes a windowlabel 1062 of “Device”, a video window 1070 that includes a window label1071 of “Video”, an audio selection window 1080 that includes a windowlabel 1081 of “Audio”, and, if a recording or other peer-to-peerconnection is active, a connection window 1090 that includes a windowlabel 1091 of “Connection”. The connection window 1090 may bedisplayable whenever there is an active recording or peer-to-peerconnection, or only displayable whenever there is such a connection andthe icon corresponding to the source device of the connection is thecurrently selected during navigation through the device selection window1060; see the Ant A icon in device window 1060. A primary highlight 1065and 1083 such as outlining an icon in a particular color, e.g., yellow,which in FIG. 2F is shown as a different shaded outline about the ANT Aand AVR icons, and/or changing the color of these icons' device namelabels 1066 and 1082 to a particular color, e.g., yellow, is used toindicate the currently selected device icon while navigating throughdevice and audio windows 1060 and 1080. A secondary highlight 1064, 1084and 1072 such as changing the color of the icon to a particular color,e.g., gold, which is shown in FIG. 2F as a change in the shading orlighting of the CABLE, AVR and TV icons, is used to indicate the currentAV source device, audio sink or output device and video sink or outputdevice. A tertiary highlight 1067 and 1068, such as graying out of anicon and its label in the device or audio windows 1060 and 1080, is usedto indicate that a particular device is unavailable or disabled. The useof no highlighting, however, is used to indicate a device is connectedto the HTNS and available for operation and connection to other devices.In addition, the use of primary highlighting 1069—such as outlining thedevice or audio window in a particular color, e.g., yellow, which isshown as a different shaded band about the device window 1060 in FIG.2F, may be used to indicate the window in which the user is currentlynavigating.

FIG. 2D shows a transport menu 54 of the UI 50 displayed in the mainvideo 13 on the screen 11 of the DTV 12. The transport menu 54 is adevice control menu preferably comprising common device appropriatecontrol function buttons such as “play”, “FF”, “RW”, and the like.Primary highlighting, shown as a bold outline of the arrow on the “play”button, may be used to indicate the current function button selectedwhile navigating within the transport menu 54. Tertiary highlighting,shown as the graying out of the “record” button 55, may be used toindicate that a function is not available or not supported by thecurrently selected device.

Turning to FIG. 2E, a PIP device selection menu 152 of the UI 50 of thepresent invention is shown displayed in the main video 13 on the screen11 of the DTV 12. The PIP device selection menu 152 comprises a PIPdevice selection window 160, which is substantially the same as thedevice window 60 of the device selection menu 52, and a PIP video window170. A PIP icon 172 in the PIP video window 170 corresponds to the PIPor sub picture 14 of the screen 11 of the DTV 12. A primary highlight,shown as a bold outline about the VCR icon 63, may be used to indicatethe device icon currently selected while navigating through the PIPdevice window 160. A secondary highlight, shown as a cross-hatch withinthe DVD and PIP video icons 64 and 172, may be used to indicate thecurrent AV source device and the current video sink device, i.e., thesub picture 14 of the screen 11 of the DTV 12. A tertiary highlight,shown as a graying-out of the D-VHS VCR Digital Cable or SatelliteReceiver, Digital DVD and Digital AV Disc device icons 66-69, may beused to indicate that the device is unavailable as a source for PIPvideo. For example, if a digital source can not be used as a PIP sourcewhen the video signal to the main picture 13 of the DTV 12 is an analogsignal, the digital source device icons, as depicted, will be grayed outto indicate they are not available as a PIP device option. Nohighlighting, however, may be used to indicate a device is connected tothe HTNS 10 and available as a PIP video source device.

FIG. 3A shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the DTV 12 of thepresent invention. As depicted, the DTV 12 preferably comprises an IRsignal detector 103 for detecting IR event signals transmitted from aremote control device 20. The IR detector 103 is preferably coupled to asignal amplifier 104, which, in turn, is connected to a TV control (TVmicro) circuit board 105. The TV micro 105 includes programmable logic,such as software, to control TV specific task and functions such as theclock, audio output, video output, volume up and down, channel up anddown, I/O port switching, and the like in a manner similar toconventional TVs. In a preferred embodiment, the TV micro 105 decodesincoming commands, including those from the control panel 16, and actsto filter out all IR signals not intended for the control system of theHTNS of the present invention and forward intended signals to the HTNScontrol (digital module) processor or circuit board 100. The HTNScontrol circuit board 100 is coupled to the TV micro 105 and comprises amain computer processing unit (CPU) 102, a memory module(s) 106, and anIRC device (IR blaster) control processor 134, which is connected to anIR signal emitter (blaster/repeater) 135. The IR blaster 135 is used totransmit IR signals to external IRC devices. The HTNS integratingcontrol subsystem or digital module of the control system of the presentinvention, which is discussed in regard to FIGS. 5 and 6, includesprogrammable logic incorporated in the control circuit board 100 and/or,as in a preferred embodiment, software programmable logic that runs oroperates on the digital module circuit board 100. Although depicted asseparate circuit boards, one skilled in the art would understand thatthe TV micro 105 and the control circuit board 100 may be combined asone circuit board.

FIGS. 3B-3D show alternative embodiments of a PDCU of the presentinvention wherein like elements are labeled accordingly. In FIG. 3B, theDTV 12′, as depicted, includes IR signal pass-through circuitrycomprising a second IR detector 401 connected in series to an IRrepeater 412. With this circuitry, the DTV 12′ may transmit IR signalsreceived by the detector 401 to external devices without any translationor decoding. In the alternative, the IR repeater 412 and IR blaster 135may be combined as a single emitter/transmitter.

As shown in FIG. 3C, a PDCU 12″ of the present invention may comprise aTV 450 and a HTNS controller 452 coupled to the TV 450. The TV 450 maybe a conventional TV having an IR detector 401 connected to an amplifier403, which is connected to a TV micro 105. The TV 450 may also comprisean IR repeater 412 to transmit IR signals received by the IR detector401 to external devices. As depicted, the HTNS controller 452 preferablycomprises an IR signal detector 103 for detecting IR event signalstransmitted from a remote control device 20. The IR detector 103 ispreferably coupled to a signal amplifier 104, which, in turn, isconnected to the HTNS control circuit board 100. The circuit board 100may include a decoder that acts to filter out all IR signals notintended for the HTNS controller 452. The HTNS control circuit board 100preferably comprises a main computer processing unit (CPU) 102, a memorymodule(s) 106, and a IRC blaster control processor 134, which isconnected to an IR blaster 135. The IR blaster 135 is used to transmitIR signals to external devices. The HTNS integrating control subsystemor digital module of the control system of the present inventionpreferably includes programmable logic incorporated in the controlcircuit board 100 and/or, as in a preferred embodiment, softwareprogrammable logic that runs or operates on the digital module circuitboard 100.

Referring to FIG. 3D, a dedicated HTNS controller 454 is shown coupledto a “slave” monitor or display screen S. The HTNS controller 454preferably comprises an IR detector 103 connected to an amplifier 104,which is connected to a decoder 108 that acts to filter out all IRsignals not intended for the HTNS controller 454 and forward intendedsignals to the HTNS control circuit board 100. One of skill in the artwould understand that the decoder 108 could be combined with the HTNScircuit board 100 as a single circuit board. The HTNS control circuitboard 100 preferably comprises a main computer processing unit (CPU)102, a memory module(s) 106, and a IRC blaster control processor 134,which is connected to an IR blaster 135. The IR blaster 135 is used totransmit IR signals to external devices. The HTNS integrating controlsubsystem or digital module of the control system of the presentinvention preferably includes programmable logic incorporated in thecontrol circuit board 100 and/or, as in a preferred embodiment, softwareprogrammable logic that runs or operates on the digital module circuitboard 100. Alternatively, the HTNS controller 454 may comprise aconventional computer upon which the control system, in the form ofsoftware programmable logic, operates.

Turning to FIG. 4, an IR signal emitting remote control 20 of thepresent invention is shown. As depicted, the remote 20 includes many ofthe same function keys and buttons, for example, number keys, channel upand down, volume up and down, power, mute, PIP/POP, play, stop, FFWD,REW, adjust, and the like, as conventional universal remote controls,and tends to operate in a like manner. The remote 20 includes a controllayer lever switch 21 to enable switching between layers to control a TVand other devices such as a cable box, a digital TV, a digital broadcastsatellite tuner, a VCR, a DVD or an audio device. However, when usedwith the control system of the present invention, the remote 20 may beoperated on a single layer, i.e., the TV control layer, to control andoperate supported devices within the HTNS 10. Preferably, the remote 20also includes HTNS specific function keys or buttons. The HTNS functionkeys and buttons include a device key 28, which may be used to displaythe device selection menu 52 of the UI 50 of the HTNS 10 on the screen11 in the main video 13 of the DTV 12 and navigate within the devicewindow 60. The adjust key 29 may also be used to navigate through thedevice and audio windows 60 and 80, as well as the video and connectionwindows 70 and 90 to the extent these windows are navigable. Other HTNSspecific function keys and buttons include audio, video and connectionbuttons 26, 24 and 23, which, along with device key 28, may be used totoggle between the device and the audio, video and connection windows 60and 80, 70 and 90. The remote control 20 also includes a PIP devicebutton 27, which may be used to initiate the selection of a PIP inputdevice from a PIP device selection menu, shown in FIG. 2E. The recordand connect buttons 25 and 23 on the remote 20 may be used to initiaterecording and other peer-to-peer connections between source (input) andsink (recording) devices. The record button 25, like the “enter” button,may also be used to initiate recordings. The recording and otherpeer-to-peer connections may be over physical connection paths thatinclude the DTV 12 or over connection paths that do not include the DTV12. For recording between a digital 1394 source device and an analogsink device, the DTV 12 preferably incorporates a down-converter toenable such recordings.

As shown diagrammatically in FIGS. 5 and 6, the DTV 12 of the presentinvention includes a control system 101 comprising a remote controldevice 20, an IR detector (receiver) 103, a TV micro 105, and a HTNSintegrating control subsystem or digital module 110. The IR detector 103receives and amplifies the IR signal, which is then decoded by the TVmicro 105. The TV micro 105 preferably filters out IR codes not intendedfor the DTV 12 of present invention. The IR codes intended for the DTV12 are communicated to the digital module board 100 where they are actedupon by the digital module (DM) 110. The DM 110 is responsible fordirecting AV signals from external and internal devices to the mainpicture 13 and sub picture 14 of the DTV 12, or to one or more recorderor sink devices within the HTNS 10.

The DM 110 of the present invention advantageously enables centralizedand seamless integrated control of the entire supported HTNS 10including the DTV 12, its internal devices, both 1394 and IRC-typedevices, as well as other inputs and system hardware interconnected tothe DTV including 1394 compatible home appliances and lighting, heating,air conditioning and security-type systems, and the like. The DM 110makes the entire operation and control of the supported devices withinthe HTNS 10 very user friendly. A user U can configure the controlsystem 101 and, more particularly, the DM 110 with IRC device and deviceconnection information and the user's preferences of 1394 devices withinthe HTNS 10. With this information, the DM 110 simplifies inputswitching and device operation for the user. For instance, the DM 110and UI 50 will present the user with a list of choices to watch, theuser U can select between these choices and rely on the DM 110 to do thenecessary I/O port switching and device connecting.

With the DM 110 and UI 50, the user may advantageously operate allsupported devices within the HTNS 10 with one remote control device onone layer, e.g., the TV layer of a universal remote control. The DM 110and UI 50 will manage the details of communicating with externaldevices, whether IRC or 1394 devices, or a hybrid thereof. The DM 110translates the commands from the remote as appropriate and issuescommands in the language appropriate for the device being controlled,giving common, intuitive behavior across devices from within the HTNS10. As a result, the user can use the same remote buttons to operate1394 and IRC devices. While the remote control commands are beingforwarded to external devices, the UI 50 may preferably display someon-screen indicator.

The DM 110 incorporates a translation function to translate incomingsignals, such as a digital IR signal or the like, and asituation-dependent, context sensitive macro function. For example, inorder to play a movie on a DVD with audio connected to an AV receiverinput, the DM will switch (if necessary) the AV receiver's input and theDTV's input. The DM 110 will automatically switch audio to follow thevideo signal and do whatever other switching is necessary to output theDVD's audio. Further, the DM 110 may issue commands in the correctlanguages for the DVD and the AV receiver. The actions taken by the DM110 are based on configuration information that the user has entered andon the current system state. Following the user entered configuration ofAV receiver inputs, the DM 110 may switch inputs automatically betweenanalog and digital sources. For AV receiver models that require it, theDM 110 may send a command when necessary to switch an AV receiver inputbetween analog and digital.

Referring in detail to FIGS. 5 and 6, the subsystems or sub-modules ofthe DM 110 preferably include an inter-processor communication module(IPC) 107 to enable communication between the DM 110 and the software orother programmable logic of the TV micro 105, a user interface module(UIM) 111, a 1394 control module 120, a 1394 driver module 124, a IRcontrol module 130, an IR blaster control module 134, and a TV control(TVC) module 140. The UIM 111, which provides the context sensitivemacro capabilities of the DM 110, translates incoming event signals fromthe remote or TV control panel and, based on stored configuration dataand current system state information, instructs the 1394, IRC and TVCmodules 120, 130 and 140, as to what actions to take. The UIM 111preferably comprises an AV connection manager (AVCM) module 112, agraphical user interface (GUI) module 114, and a device managementsystem (DMS) module 116. The AVCM 112 and GUI 114 modules act incombination as an interpretation/translation layer to interpret theevent signal commands from the remote 20 and translate these commandsinto instructions for the DMS 116 and TVCM 140 regarding what actions totake.

Preferably, the function of the AVCM 112 is to determine the currentstate of the HTNS 10 by querying the DMS 116, TVCM 140 and TV micro 105as to devices connected to the system, active “in-use” deviceconnections, active AV switching within devices and current TV operatingparameters. For example, the AVCM 112 may determine from the DMS 116that the active connections include an IRC cable box connected to theDTV, the video of an IRC VCR connected to the DTV and its audioconnected to an AVR, and a D-DVD connected peer-to-peer to a D-VCR, fromthe TVCM 140 that the VCR's video is being directed to the main video ofthe DTV, the cable's video is being directed to the sub (PIP) video ofthe DTV and the device selection menu is currently displayed on the mainvideo of the DTV, and from the TV micro 105 that the DTV's audio outputis switched off. Once the system state is determined, the function ofthe AVCM 112 is to determine or interpret, based on the system state,whether an event signal is commanding a direct device action or a menurelated action such as menu display, menu navigation or menu deviceaction. If the event is a direct device action, the AVCM 112 instructsthe DMS 116 and/or the TVCM 140 directly as to what device action isneeded in a message that includes the current system state information.For example, if the video and audio of an Ant tuner were being output bythe TV video and a receiver audio, respectively, and the user U pressedthe “volume up” key on the remote control, the AVCM 112 would instructthe DMS 116 directly to raise the volume of the receiver audio. If theevent is a menu-related action, the AVCM 112 communicates the eventsignal along with the current system-state information to the GUIM 114.

The GUIM 114 includes the UI 50 for the HTNS 10 and also the UI for theDTV 12, preferably expressible as graphical window objects. The functionof the GUIM 114 is to determine or interpret whether the event requiresthe display of a menu or navigation within or between menus, or is amenu device action. If the event requires a device action, the GUIM 114instructs the DMS 116 as to what device action is needed in a messagethat includes the current system state information. If the eventrequires menu display or navigation, the GUIM 114 instructs the TVCM 140to display the menu in the main video 13 on the screen 11 of the DTV 12with the current system state information. If the AV input signal beingdisplayed in the main video 13 is an analog signal from an IRC device30, the TVCM 140 generates a menu display signal, and then transmits thesignal to the TV chassis and coordinates combining the input and menudisplay signals at the TV chassis of the DTV 12. In this instance, themenu appears opaque on the screen 11. If the AV input signal is adigital signal from a 1394 device 40, the menu display signal iscombined with the input signal in the TVCM 140 and then transmitted tothe TV chassis. In this instance, the menu preferably appearstranslucent on the screen 11.

The function of the DMS 116 is to determine based on current systemstate information and the device action instructions received from theAVCM 112 or GUIM 114, what devices to connect and operate, what deviceconnections to break, how to accomplish the device connections anddisconnects, and how to operate a particular device. As part of thisfunction, the DMS 116 maintains, internal to the DMS 116, a devicecontainer list (DCL) 117 and a device interconnect list (DIL) 118. TheDCL is a list, or database, of all the supported devices that make upthe HTNS 10, including internal TV devices such as tuners, I/O ports andthe like, external input IRC and 1394 devices, and other input devicesconnected to the DTV 12. Information about each device is placed into adevice container object (DCO), which is stored in persistent memory 106.The DCO consists of a variety of information common to all devicesregardless of device type, including such information as a logicaldevice ID to keep track of the device in the system and used to linkdevice icons to the appropriate device DCO, a model number ID toidentify which device model object (DMO) is associated with the device,and for IRC devices, identify an IR code file, and an indication ofwhether the device is a 1394 device or not, etc.

While DCOs for internal TV devices are created in advance and stored inpersistent memory, DCOs for external input devices are created by theDMS 116 during configuration setup as the user logs in each IRC deviceor the configuration setup system discovers and identifies a 1394 deviceconnected to the DTV 12. As part of creating the DCOs, the DMS 116assigns each device a logical device ID and a DMO number to the deviceas part of the DCO and notes whether or not the device is a 1394 device.

Upon system initialization, i.e., after AC power is applied to the DTV12, the DCOs stored in persistent memory are read from storage by theDMS 116, an appropriate DMO is created and appended to a particular DCObased on the model number ID information contained in the DCO, and theDCO/DMO is placed in the DCL 117. Because 1394 devices are considered bythe control system to be unit devices comprising logical sub-unitdevices (preferably, up to 32 sub-units), the DMS 116 creates both aunit level DCO/DMO and a sub-unit level DCO/DMO.

Each DCO/DMO sub-unit is linked to a common unit level DCO/DMO thatrepresents the device as a whole. For example, a 1394 device mightconsist of a Tuner and an AvDisc sub-unit. Each sub-unit has a DCO/DMOcreated for it and these two sub-units are linked to a DCO/DMO thatrepresents the device as a whole. The sub-unit DCOs are not stored inpersistent memory and are re-discovered each time the device is found onthe 1394 network. As a result, when a 1394 device is discovered, the DMS116 scans the DCL 117 for a DCO/DMO for that particular device. If theDCO/DMO is in the DCL 117, then only the sub-unit DCO/DMOs are createdand attached to the unit level DCO/DMO in the DCL 117. If the DCO/DMO isnot in the DCL 117, then the unit and sub-unit level DCO/DMOs arecreated with the unit level DCO/DMO added to the DCL 117 and unit levelDCO added to persistent storage.

The DMOs, which are embedded in the DMS, include device-type specificinformation common for all VCR-type devices, DVD-type devices, etc. TheDMS 116 creates and maintains each instance of a DMO that understandsthe details of connection and communication with a particular AV device,whether it is an internal TV device or an external device. The DMOscomprise a collection of device specific functions that know how tointerface with the input device. The DMOs include details of thedevice's capabilities including, but not limited to, how to control thedevice, what functions the device can perform, which functions thedevice cannot perform, and all the I/O capabilities of the device.Remote commands, routed to the correct DMO, tell what the user wants todo to that device. The DMOs also preferably comprise information on howto interface with the appropriate control module corresponding to thedevice. The information contained in the DMOs is preferably defaultedfor the IRC versions of each device-type. Some of the information,however, such as audio and video parameters like picture brightness,stereo/mono, and the like, may be user modifiable.

With the appropriate DMO appended to the DCO, the DCO/DMO containsinformation that is needed to control the device and support the UIM111. Accordingly, the DCO/DMOs preferably comprise information such as aunique device identifier (logical device ID), a device model identifier(Model Number), a viewer's preferred name, a viewer's preferred icon ID,a device type (video/audio source, video/audio sink, video/audio recordsink, or AV switch), AV pathway (analog, digital, both), digital pathwayprotocol, UI menu pathway, permanent, ignore and connected to bus flags,preferred audio settings, preferred video settings, preferred formatsetting, and the like.

The DIL 118 is a list, or database, of all the physical deviceconnections in the HTNS 10. The DIL 118 contains all of the deviceconnection ports and connection paths between the ports in the HTNS 10.To create a connection port, the I/O capabilities of a device areobtained from the DMOs. Each connection port is placed into a deviceinterconnect object (DIO), which is stored in persistent memory. Theinformation provided for a port by the DMO preferably includes portnumber, content—video, audio or both, direction—input, output, orrecording input, and type—analog or digital. The DIL 118 also maintainsthe active “in use” connections between devices when an AV source isactively connected to an AV sink. Active connections can move along thephysical connection paths and pass through AV switch devices.Preferably, the chassis of the DTV 12 of the present invention ismodeled as an AV switch device and the majority of AV connections passthrough it. Active connections can come and go as the user changes AVsources and sinks, but physical connections always remain intact. TheDMS 116 can establish active connections from a source to a sink even ifthe video and audio take different paths.

As part of the configuration system, 1394 devices are preferablyautomatically connected to a 1394 virtual switch DCO/DMO. The virtualswitch has an unlimited number of I/O ports. Thus, when a DIO for a 1394device is created, a DIO is created for the 1394 virtual switch and theconnection information between the device and the virtual switch isestablished. Connections between the virtual switch and the device areconsidered by the DMS 116 to be physical connections.

The DMS 116 also maintains an IR Device list, an AVR Input Name list,and an AVR Input Default list. Upon system initiation, a list of all IRCdevices is read from persistent storage and placed into the IR DeviceList. Each entry in the list contains several fields of informationincluding, but not limited to, Device Type (VCR, DVD, etc.), ModelNumber (a unique number), Manufacturer Name, Manufacturer Model Name, IRBlasting Filename, and a set of special function flags. A list of AVReceiver input names is also read from persistent storage and placedinto AVR Input Name List. Lastly, a list of AV Receiver default inputsettings is read from persistent storage and placed into a list calledthe AVR Input Defaults List. These defaults are used during the Initialsetup configuration operation. There is also a collection of IR Codefiles that contain the actual IR Codes for each remote control devicekey that is supported for each device. There is one file for eachdevice. The IR Code files are stored in persistent storage.

As part of the setup configuration system discussed below, the GUIM 114uses the Manufacturer Names and Model Names from the IR Device list forpresenting IRC devices to the user for selection when adding a newdevice. The AVR Input Name List is also used by the GUIM to present theAVR Input Names to the user in the Connection screen discussed below.When the Manufacturer and Model are selected, a uniquely identifiableModel Number is created for the device. When a DCO/DMO is created by theDMS 116 that will use the IRC module for communication, a message issent to the IRC module 130 that associates a Model Number with an IRCode File. The IRC module 130 then loads the IR Code File data frompersistent storage into memory (IR Code Library) for future use andassociates the specified Model Number with that set of IR Codes. TheModel Number and IR Blasting Filename is used by the DMS 116 to tell theIRC module 130 specifically what to blast when a command or message toblast is received by the IRC module. The message or command will includethe Model Number and the Key Code to blast.

With the current system state and the required device action known, theDMS 116 accesses the DCL 117 and DIL 118 to retrieve specificinformation from the DCO/DMOs and DIOs necessary to make and breakconnections between devices, operate switching between I/O ports of anAV switch, operate specific devices and interface with appropriatecontrol modules. From this information, the DMS 116 formulatesinstructions or messages that are communicated to the 1394, IRC and TVcontrol modules 120, 130 and 140, and the TV micro 105 to accomplish therequested device action. All instructions or requests for operating theAV switches of the DTV 12 are sent via the TVCM 140 to the TV micro 105.The DMS 116 also modifies the DIL 118 to reflect the new active “in-use”device connections.

The function of the input device control modules 120, 130 and 140 is totransmit the commands or instructions from the DMS 116 to the choseninput device in a device appropriate manner. The DM 110 of the presentinvention, however, supports a wide variety of the 1394, IRC andinternal TV AV devices—e.g., camcorders, DVD players, VCRs, and set-topboxes, audio decoder/amplifiers, antenna tuners, AV receivers and thelike. To communicate and control a wide variety of 1394 devices, the1394 control module 120 preferably maintains a device control module(DCM) 122 for each 1394 device within the HTNS 10. The DCMs 122 aresoftware that takes the commands or instructions from the DMS 116 andtransforms them to a device-specific message. Therefore, with DCMs 122for every 1394 device, the DM 110 can pass remote commands such aschange channels, PLAY, STOP and the like, to the DCM for that device andhave the commands transmitted to the device in a device specific way viaa 1394 driver 124. The 1394 driver provides appropriate interfacingbetween the 1394-control module 120 and external 1394 devices 126.

Preferably, the DM 110 provides embedded DCMs for common 1394 AV devicesas part of the 1394 control module 120, is capable of hosting Java DCMscommunicated from the 1394 devices themselves, and is capable ofexecuting Java Havlets (retrievable from the Internet) that areassociated with the DCMs of 1394 devices. The DM 110 also preferablysupports device embedded DCMs through the 1394 control module 120.Embedded DCMs are controllers for a specific device written in aCPU-specific language (not Java.) A 1394 device may contain embeddedDCMs to support certain other devices, typically IRC devices that itexpects to see. Since an IRC AV device does not present a DCM of itsown, some other device (a 1394 device) in the HTNS 10 must provide theDCM. Lastly, the DM 110 arbitrates with other HAVi FAVs/IAVs todistribute the load of DCMs to be hosted and, thus, the control of 1394devices 40 within the HTNS 10.

To communicate and control a wide variety of IRC devices, the IRC module130 transforms the commands or instructions from the DMS 116 into deviceappropriate messages comprising device specific IR code. The IRC module130 maintains the IR code library or database 131. The IRC module 130also includes a translation layer (transcoder) 133 that converts thecommands or instructions to the correct IR code to be transmitted to thechosen external device 136. Based on the information from IR codelibrary 131, which includes the modulation parameters (carrierfrequency, duty cycle), and some representation of the ons and offs thatrepresent the command, and DCO/DMOs in the DCL 117, the correct IR codefor the device 136 in focus is synthesized. The transcoder 133 orcommunication handler then makes up a message or packet containing theIR code. The packet is then sent to a blaster micro controller 134 overa serial link via a blaster driver 132. The blaster controller 134 thentransmits the packet or message via an IR blaster 135 to the externaldevices 136. The IR blaster 135 is preferably an IR emitter or repeater.The blaster controller 134 preferably sends messages in a mannerrequired by the device as indicated by the DCO/DMO of the device. Forexample, some devices may expect two repetitions of the same messagebefore responding. The blaster controller 134 may send the same commandseveral times in succession if needed.

The TV control module 140 operates all of the TV hardware, i.e., theinternal input devices 148, such as, for example, a digital tuner 142, ampeg decoder 144, and an AC-3 decoder 146 and the like. The TVCM 140manages the state of the signals on the screen, including which signalappears in the main and sub pictures and answers questions from the DMS116 about what configurations are possible, e.g., what devices areavailable as PIP video sources. The TVCM 140 handles how a signal isdisplayed on the TV screen and how it sounds. This includes scaling,PIP/POP/Double-window, demux controlling, MPEG decoding, audioprocessing, NTSC video processing, and lip synch between audio and videodecoders. Like the IRC and 1394 control modules 120 and 130, the TVCM140 transforms the command or instructions from the DMS 116 into deviceappropriate messages to communicate with the internal input devices 148of the HTNS 10.

The DM 110 of the present invention preferably includes a configurationsetup subsystem that advantageously provides high connection permutationsensitivity within the DM 110. With the configuration setup subsystem,users are able to setup the connection configuration of the HTNS 10 in afirst time out of the box initial setup mode. In an edit mode, the setupsubsystem enables the user to change, modify (i.e., customize) or deleteexisting configurations. In the initial setup mode, the user is providedwith a pre-set configuration of IRC device input connections on the DTV12 and instructed to connect the IRC devices 140 to the DTV 12accordingly.

In order to build the DCL 117 and DIL 118, and the DCO/DMOs and DIOscorresponding to the IRC devices 40 of the HTNS 10, a “device” menu 200(see FIGS. 7A and 7B) is presented. The user fills out the device menu200 to log in each IRC device corresponding to the devices in thepre-set connection configuration. The device menu 200 appears in themain video 13 on the screen 11 of the DTV 12 and may be filled out,navigated and controlled using the keys on the remote 20. Preferably,the device menu 200 indicates at the top of the box 200, where the word“device type” appears, which IRC device, i.e., VCR, DVD, cable, and thelike, the user is being asked to log in. In particular, the user may berequired to fill in the manufacture's name in the “Manufacturer” window202 and the model number in the “Model No.” window 204 as shown in FIG.7A. Preferably, however, the user may be required to select amanufacturer from a pull down manufacturer menu window 206. When theuser selects a manufacturer, the control system may present a messagethat the control system is optimized for a manufacturer's particulardevice model, as shown in FIG. 7B. The device type, the manufacture'sname and the model number are then used by the DMS to build the DCO/DMOsand DIO for the supported devices.

Once all the IRC devices are logged in, a “review” menu 220 (see FIG. 8)is presented that enables the user to review the IRC devices 222connected to the HTNS 10, their connections 223 to the DTV 12, and theirconnections 225 to an AV receiver, if such a device is connected to theHTNS 10. Because the DM 110 of the present invention incorporates theDevice Discovery and Self-Identification processes defined in the HAViand AV/C specification, the 1394 devices 224 connected to the HTNS 10will automatically appear as connected devices in the “review” window220. In addition, if a new 1394 device is added, the DM 110 willautomatically add it to the configuration. Lastly, the review menu 220may be used to turn off or disable a particular input.

To complete or edit the setup configuration, the user selects the “next”key in the review menu 220 to present a “finish” menu 226. (see FIG. 9A)The user may complete the setup configuration by selecting the “finish”key or edit the configuration by selecting the “edit” key. If the userselects the “edit” key, an “edit” menu 228 is presented. The edit menu228 (see FIG. 9B) preferably allows the user to add an IRC device to anunused input on the DTV 12, change the name or connections of an IRCdevice already connected, delete a device or the entire setupconfiguration, return to the review menu 220 and turn an input on oroff, or restart the initial setup subsystem. If “add” or “change” areselected, an “add/change” menu (not shown) is presented to allow theuser to select what device the user wishes to add or modify. Once theuser chooses the device to add or modify, the device menu 200 (FIG. 7Aor 7B) is presented to allow the user to change the device manufacturer.When complete, the user selects “next” and is presented with a “name”menu (not shown), which allows the user to change the name of the deviceto a user preferred name. When complete, the user selects “next” and ispresented with a “connection” menu 230. (see FIG. 9C) The connectionmenu 230 enables the user to customize the connections of an IRC deviceto the DTV and/or an AV receiver. To add, modify, change or customizethe connections of the device identified in the TV input window 232 tothe DTV, the user may identify whether the input device's video and/oraudio are connected to the TV by selecting the audio and video boxes 234and 236. To add, modify, change or customize the connections of thedevice identified in the AVR input window 238 to an AV receiver, theuser may identify whether the device's video and/or audio are connectedto the AVR by selecting the audio and video boxes 240 and 242.

This procedure may be used to identify a “hybrid” 1394 device within theHTNS 10 and configure the hybrid 1394 device to operate as such withinthe DM 110. A hybrid 1394 device is a device capable of receiving analogand digital input and/or producing analog and digital output.

During setup (initial or edit), if “other” is selected for themanufacturer, an option to learn IR or other control codes of a devicemay be presented. A learning screen is presented that provides a list ofbuttons on a remote control device that can be supported and learned.After a button on the screen is activated (by a pressing of enter (orselect) on the remote), the DM 110 is in learning mode awaiting IR code.The remote for the IRC device for which the codes are being learned isthen pointed at the DTV 12, and the designated key pressed to allowcapture of the IR code. A change in the appearance of the soft key(e.g., an addition of a checkmark) indicates which keys have beensuccessfully added to IR code library. The learned IR codes are added toa newly created DCO/DMO for the device being added. The DCO/DMO behavesthe same as those already in the DMS 116. When a device is added it isintegrated with the already supported devices and will show up in theManufacturer/Model screen just like the already supported devices duringsetup configuration. An entry in a learned devices database may be addedas well and stored in persistent storage.

In operation, referring to FIGS. 1, 2A-2D, 3A, and 4-6, the user U maydepress the device key 28 of the remote 20 to display the deviceselection menu 52 while watching a movie being played on the D-VHS VCR41 and displayed on the main screen 13 of the DTV 12. This event signalis received and amplified by the detector 103, decoded by the TV micro105 and transmitted to the UIM 111 of the DM 110. The AVCM 112determines the current system state and, based on such information, thatthe event is a menu-related event. The AVCM 112 transmits the event andthe system state information to the GUIM 114. The GUIM 114 determines,based on the current system state information, that the event is a menudisplay event and transmits a message to the TVCM 140 to display thedevice selection menu 52 in the main video 13 on the screen 11 of theDTV 12 with the current system state information and device optionsdisplayed.

With the device selection menu 52 displayed, as shown in FIG. 2A, thevisual recognition system of the UI 50 provides the user with on-screen,real time visual recognition of the current system state, the currentnavigation within the device selection menu 52, and the devicesconnected to (i.e., device options within) the HTNS 10. Referring to thedevice window 60, the cross-hatching in the D-VHS VCR icon 66 indicatesthat the D-VHS VCR 41 is the current input device. The bold outlineabout the D-VHS VCR icon 66 indicates that it is the currently selecteddevice icon for navigation within the device selection window 60. TheDBS tuner icon 61 is grayed out, which indicates that the DBS Tuner 32is disabled or unavailable possibly because the DBS Tuner 32 has beendisconnected from the DTV 12, its power has been turned off, or the DM110 does not know what the tuner is connected to because the videocheckbox for the TV may have been unchecked in the connection screen ora device is recording off of the main TV video output. No other iconhighlighting appears in the device window 60, which indicates that allother input devices corresponding to these icons are available forconnection and operation.

Referring to the video window 70 in FIG. 2A, the cross-hatching in theTV video icon 72 indicates the main video 13 of the DTV 12 is the sinkor output device for the video signal from the D-VHS VCR 41. Turning tothe audio window 80, the AVR icon 84 is grayed out indicating that theAVR 37 is not available as an audio sink for the audio signal from theD-VHS VCR 41. The lack of highlighting in the TV audio icon 82 indicatesthat the TV audio 15 of the DTV 12 is not the current audio sink for theaudio signal of the D-VHS VCR 41 and it is not the current selected menuicon during navigation within the audio window 80. The cross-hatching inthe D-AVR icon 86 indicates that the D-AVR 44 is the current audio sinkfor the audio signals from the D-VHS VCR 41. The bold outline about theD-AVR icon 86 indicates that the D-AVR 44 is the current selected audiooutput icon during navigation within the audio window 80.

The user U may then depress the left arrow of the adjust button 29 onthe remote 20 to navigate within the device window 60 of the deviceselection menu 52 to the adjacent icon 65 corresponding to a IRC AVdevice 35. As before, this event signal is received and amplified by thedetector 103, decoded by the TV micro 105 and transmitted to the UIM 111of the DM 110. The AVCM 112 determines the current system state and,based on such information, that the event is a menu-related event. TheAVCM 112 transmits the event and the system state information to theGUIM 114. The GUIM 114 determines, based on the current system stateinformation, that the event is a menu navigation event and transmits amessage to the TVCM 140 to navigate to the next icon within the devicewindow 60, transmits this information to the AVCM 112 and queries theAVCM 112 as to the corresponding system state, transmits the systemstate information to the TVCM 140 and instructs the TVCM 140 to displaythe current system state information and device options within thedevice selection menu 52.

In the device window 60, as shown in FIG. 2B, the bold outline about theIRC AV device icon 65 indicates that it is the currently selected deviceicon for navigation within the device window 60, while the crosshatching in the D-VHS VCR icon 66 indicates that the D-VHS VCR 41 isstill the current input device. In the video window 70, the crosshatching in the TV video icon 72 indicates that the main video 13 of theDTV 12 is still the video sink for the video signal from the D-VHS VCR41. Because the IRC AV device 35 is actively connected in a recordingpeer-to-peer connection with the IRC VCR 33, the connection window 90 isdisplayed. In the connection window 90, the VCR icon 92 indicates thatIRC AV device 35 is connected to the IRC VCR 33 in a recording or someother peer-to-peer connection. In the audio window 80, the bold outlineabout TV audio icon 82 indicates that it is the currently selecteddevice icon for navigation within the audio window 80 and is availablefor an audio connection with the IRC AV device 35. The AVR icon 84,which is not bold outlined, indicates that the IRC AV receiver 37 isavailable as an audio sink for the audio signal of the IRC AV device 35,but is not the currently selected icon for navigation within the audiowindow 80. The D-AVR icon 86 includes cross hatching to indicate that itis the current audio sink for the audio signal from the D-VHS VCR 41.The D-AVR icon 86 is also grayed out to indicate that the D-AV receiver44 is unavailable as an audio sink for the audio signal from the IRC AVdevice 35.

The user U may again depress the left arrow of the adjust button 29 onthe remote 20 to navigate within the device window 60 of the deviceselection menu 52 to the adjacent DVD icon 64 corresponding to the IRCDVD player 34. Again, this event signal is received and amplified by thedetector 103, decoded by the TV micro 105 and transmitted to the UIM 111of the DM 110. The AVCM 112 determines the current system state and,based on such information, that the event is a menu-related event. TheAVCM 112 transmits the event and the system state information to theGUIM 114. The GUIM 114 determines, based on the current system stateinformation, that the event is a menu navigate event and transmits amessage to the TVCM 140 to navigate to the next icon within the devicewindow 60, transmits this information to the AVCM 112 and queries theAVCM 112 as to the corresponding system state, transmits the systemstate information to the TVCM 140 and instructs the TVCM 140 to displaythe current system state information and device options within thedevice selection menu 52.

In the device window 60, as shown in FIG. 2C, the bold outline about theDVD icon 64 indicates that it is the currently selected device icon fornavigation within the device selection window 60, while the crosshatching in the D-VHS VCR icon 66 indicates that the D-VHS VCR 41 isstill the current input device. In the video window 70, the crosshatching in the TV video icon 72 indicates that the main video 13 of theDTV 12 is still the video sink for the video signal from the D-VHS VCR41. In the audio window 80, the bold outline about the AVR icon 84indicates that it is the currently selected device icon for navigationwithin the audio window and is available as an audio sink for the audiosignal from the IRC DVD player 34. The TV audio icon 82, which is notbold outlined, indicates that the TV audio 15 of the DTV 12 is availableas an audio sink for the audio signal from the IRC DVD player 34, andthat the TV audio icon is not currently selected for navigation withinthe audio window 80. The D-AVR icon 86 includes cross hatching toindicate that it is the current audio sink for the audio signal from theD-VHS VCR 41. The D-AVR icon 86 is also grayed out to indicate that theD-AV receiver 44 is unavailable as an audio sink for the audio signalfrom the IRC DVD player 34. Alternatively, the D-AVR icon 86 may begrayed out with no cross-hatching when the device is unavailable as anaudio sink.

Next, the user U may press the enter (or select) button 22 or some otherappropriate key on the remote to select the current selections(highlighted devices) within the device selection menu 52. If thecurrent selected icon corresponded to a 1394 device, a pop-up menu (notshown) would be presented providing the user with sub-unit options tochoose from. The adjust button could be used to navigate between thesub-unit choices and the enter (or select) key could be used to selectthe desired sub-unit.

As before, this event signal is received and amplified by the detector103, decoded by the TV micro 105 and transmitted to the UIM 111 of theDM 110. The AVCM 112 determines the current system state and that theevent is a menu related event. The AVCM 112 transmits the event and thesystem state information to the GUIM 114. The GUIM 114 determines, basedon the current system state information, that the event is a menu deviceaction and transmits a message or command to the DMS 116 containing thecurrent system state information and instructing the DMS 116 that theDVD player 34 has been selected as the input device, that the TV video13 of the DTV is the video output device, and that the IRC AV receiver37 has been selected as the audio output device. Based on the currentsystem state information and device command, the DMS 116 queries the DCL117 and DIL 118 for connection, I/O port, operation information and thelike contained in the DCO/DMOs and DIOs, and then formulates anappropriate message, which it transmits to the TVCM 140 instructing theTVCM 140 to have the TV micro 105 switch the video input port from theport for D-VHS VCR 41, i.e., the 1394 port, to the port to which the IRCDVD player 34 is connected. The DMS 116 also formulates an appropriatemessage that it transmits to the 1394 control module 120 instructing itto stop or shut down the D-VHS VCR 41 and D-AVR 44. The 1394 controlmodule 120 calls up the appropriate DCMs 122, which translate theinstructions into device specific messages that the 1394 drivertransmits to the D-VHS VCR 41 and D-AVR 44 to stop or shut down thedevices. The DMS 116 also formulates appropriate messages that ittransmits to the IRC module 130 instructing it to operate the DVD 34 andthe IRC AV receiver 37 and to perform the appropriate switching withinthe DVD and the AVR to enable an audio connection there between. The IRCmodule 130 accesses the IR code library 131 and formulates messagescorresponding to the commands from the DMS 116 that contain devicespecific IR code for the chosen devices. The messages or packets arethen transmitted serially to the IR blaster controller 134 via theblaster driver 132. The IR blaster controller 134 controls thetransmission of the packets to the DVD player 34 and the AVR 37 via anIR Blaster 135 (emitter/repeater) and in accordance with the DCO/DMOs ofthe chosen devices.

At the same time the DMS 116 is seamlessly handling the switching andconnection of the devices, the GUIM 114 is instructing the TVCM 140 tobring up the transport menu 54. The transport menu 54 provides the userU with a familiar set of control function buttons for operating externaldevices through the control system and interacts with the UI 50 and DM110. The transport menu 54 includes a list of six icons corresponding tostandard commands of “Rewind”, “Play”, “Forward”, “Stop”, “Pause”, and“Record”. The transport menu 54 may also be displayed when an externaldevice is active and any of the keys corresponding to these standardcommands is pressed on the remote 20. As depicted in FIG. 2D, buttonsare grayed out that correspond to functions the selected device isincapable of performing, e.g., conventional DVD players can not record,therefore the record button is shown grayed out.

For IRC devices, the DM 110 preferably incorporates the display andoperation of device specific control menus generated by the IRC device.The DM 110 preferably maps the display of such menus to the “menu” keyon the remote. For 1394 devices, the DM 110 preferably incorporates“on-screen display” (OSD) controllers for displaying OSDs from external1394 devices that provide them. The OSDs from these devices give accessto unique features of those devices that are not part of the normalcontrols. For example, pressing the PLAY button will cause an AV/C D-VCRto begin playing. But the user can still access unusual features, suchas a sophisticated “cueing by GOP” by accessing that AV/C D-VCR's menus.The DM 110 preferably incorporates ways to include the UI's of externaldevices as though they were extensions of its own. To do this, the DM110 preferably incorporates AV/C Panel Controller functionality, HAViDDI interface, and EIA-775A bitmap interface, a HAVi level-2 UI(havlet), and the like.

With the play button of the transport menu 54 highlighted, the user Umay hit the enter (or select) key 22 or the play button on the remote 20to begin playing the DVD player 34. As before, this event signal isreceived and amplified by the detector 103, decoded by the TV micro 105,and then transmitted to the UIM 111 of the DM 110. The AVCM 112determines the current system state and that the event is a menu relatedevent. The AVCM 112 transmits the event and the system state informationto the GUIM 114. The GUIM 114 determines, based on the current systemstate information, that the event is a menu device action and transmitsa message or command to the DMS 116 containing the current system stateinformation and instructing the DMS 116 to have the DVD player 34 beginplaying. Based on the current system state information and devicecommand, “play”, the DMS 116 formulates an appropriate message that ittransmits to the IRC module 130 instructing to have the DVD 34 beginplaying. The IRC module 130 accesses the IR code library and formulatesa message corresponding to the play command from the DMS 116 thatcontains device specific IR code. The message or packet is thentransmitted serially to the IR blaster controller 134 via blaster driver132. The IR blaster controller 134 controls the transmission of thepacket to the DVD player 34 via the IR blaster 135. The DVD player 34begins to play with its video outputted on the main picture 13 of thescreen 11 of the DTV 12 and its audio outputted from the IRC AV receiver37. While the DM 100 is performing all the noted operations, the GUIM114 may instruct the TVCM 140 to display a visual indicator that suchactivity is occurring.

For PIP operation, the user U may depress the PIP device key 27 on theremote 20 to display the PIP device selection menu 152, which, asdepicted in FIG. 2E, comprises device and video windows 160 and 170 thatappear substantially the same as the device and video windows 60 and 70of the device selection menu 52.

The sub-picture icon 172 corresponds to the PIP or sub picture 14 of thescreen 11 of the DTV 12. The DM 110 acts to display the PIP deviceselection menu 152, and responds to navigation and device actioncommands in the same manner as discussed above in regard to the deviceselection menu 52. The GUIM 114, in coordination with the TVCM 140,indicates in the PIP device window 160 which input devices are availableas a source device for the PIP video by graying out icons of thosedevices that are not available. For example, all icons corresponding to1394 devices may be grayed out if the video signal to the main picture13 is an analog signal.

For recording or other peer-to-peer connection operation, the user U maypress the RECORD and Connect buttons 25 and 23 on the remote 20. Inresponse, the DM 110 displays a Record/Connect menu 250 on the screen 11of the DTV 12 wherein the current device is the source device. (see FIG.10) To record immediately, the user U selects a recording device in thedevice window 252 and duration in the duration window 254, then pressesthe REC button 25 on the remote 20. To record at a later time, the userU also selects a starting time in the start time window 256 and day inthe set day window 258, and then selects the Add button in the dialoguewindow 250 to store the future recording in persistent storage. Forrecording output from antennas, cable boxes, satellite boxes, and otherdevices with channel selections, the user selects the channel forrecording in the channel window 260. For recording output from 1394devices, a pop-up menu (not shown) would be presented providing the userwith sub-unit options to choose from. The adjust button could be used tonavigate between the sub-unit choices and the enter (or select) keycould be used to select the desired sub-unit. To see a list of futurerecordings, the user U may select the List Button in the dialogue window250. To connect a source device to a sink device in a peer-to-peerconnection, the user U selects a device in the device window 252 andduration in the duration window 254, then presses the Connect button 25on the remote 20.

The recording and other peer-to-peer connections may be over physicalconnections that include the DTV 12 or over physical connections, thatdo not include the DTV 12, such as, for example, the playing of a moviefrom a D-DVD 1394 device on an auxiliary 1394 video display device. Aswith other operations, the DM 110 receives the record or connect eventsignal and translates it to perform the necessary switching, make thenecessary connections, and operate the chosen devices, all transparentlyto the user U.

The control system 101 of the present invention preferably synchronizesits blasting of IR messages to supported IRC devices with the messagescoming from the remote 20, to blast during gaps between remote messagesand thus avoid IR “jamming”, as described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/535,263 for “Protocol For Avoiding Interference BetweenTransmission Devices,” which is incorporated by reference. IR jammingoccurs when an external device cannot decode the commands blasted to itbecause the remote 20 is transmitting at the same time. The software onthe remote 20 is preferably adapted to leave gaps during which the DM110 can blast messages to other devices. The DM 110 preferablycoordinates its IR transmissions with these gaps. The blaster 135preferably has a means for communicating its busy/completion status tothe DM 110.

After a user command from the IR remote 20 or the front panel 16 startsan operation, if preferred that operation may not be interrupted withanother user command, with the exception of certain desirable cases.Also if preferred, user commands ignored because of any operationalready in-progress may be discarded and not buffered for future use.

Optionally, as shown in FIGS. 11 a and 11 b, apparatus, systems andmethods are provided to enable the pass-through IR control ofnon-supported IRC devices 418 in a network of consumer electronicssystems or a HTNS 400, while avoiding jamming of IR signals. The HTNS400 preferably comprises a translator subsystem 408, such as the DM ofthe present invention, and a IR signal blaster or repeater 412. Inaddition, the HTNS 400 includes a remote A 402 for controlling supportedIRC devices 414 and 416 within the HTNS 400, an IR detector 406 seriallyconnected to the translator subsystem 408 and an IR transmitter 412 fortransmitting IR signals to supported and non-supported IRC devices 414,416 and 418 serially connected to the translator 408. The HTNS 400comprises another remote B 404 for operation of non-supported IRCdevices 418. The second remote B 404 may alternatively be a secondprogrammable layer on the supported device remote A 402. Because thetranslator subsystem 408 preferably does not recognize signalstransmitted from the non-supported device remote B 404 or communicatesuch signals to the transmitter 412 for broadcast to the non-supporteddevices 418, a gate 410 is provided in the HTNS 10, which is seriallyconnected to the detector 406 and the transmitter 412. The gate 410,however, is also serially connected to the translator 408 over acommunication link 409. When the gate 410 is open, signals from thenon-supported device remote B 404 are “passed-through” to thetransmitter 412 for broadcast to the non-supported devices 418. When thegate 410 is closed, signals from either remote may not “pass-through” tothe transmitter 412 and, thus, IR signal jamming at the transmitter 412may be avoided. Operation of the gate 410 is controlled by thetranslator 408, which instructs the gate 410 to close once it beginsacting on an IR event signal. The translator 408 will not instruct thegate to open until it has determined that the IR signal isunrecognizable, i.e., not from a supported remote, or until after thetransmitter 412 has completed broadcasting signals to the supporteddevices 414 and 416. The transmitter 412 preferably has the capabilityto inform the translator 408 as to when it is and is not busy.

Alternatively, a HTNS 420 may include a first detector 406 seriallyconnected to the translator 408 and a second detector 405 seriallyconnected to the gate 410. Preferably, the first detector 406 is adaptedto filter out all signals not originating from the supported deviceremote A 402. The second detector 405, which is preferably a widebanddetector, is capable of detecting IR signals originating from thenon-supported device remote B 404 and transmitting such signals to thegate 410 for pass-through to the transmitter 412. Operation of the gate410 is controlled by the translator 408 in substantially the same way asin the previous embodiment.

Turning to FIGS. 12 and 13, the IR pass through system for control ofnon-DM supported devices is shown incorporated into the HTNS 10 of thepresent invention. As depicted, a second wideband detector 401 isprovided to detect IR signals not originating from a HTNS remote 20 ororiginating from a control layer other than the TV layer 23 on the HTNSremote 20 of the present invention. The detector 401 is seriallyconnected to a gate 410, which is serially connected to the IR blaster135 of the present invention and to the IRC module 130. When the gate410 is open, signals detected by the wideband detector 401 are“passed-through” to the IR blaster 135 for broadcast to thenon-supported external devices 136. When the gate 410 is closed, signalsdetected by the wideband detector 401 may not “pass-through” to the IRblaster 135 and, thus, IR jamming may be avoided. The gate 410 iscontrolled by the IRC module 130 which instructs the gate 410 to closeonce it begins acting on an IR event message received from the DMS 116.The IRC module 130 will not instruct the gate 410 to open until afterthe IR blaster 135 has completed broadcasting signals to the externaldevices 136. The IR blaster 135 preferably has the capability to informthe IRC module 130 as to when it is and is not busy.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, a specific example thereof has been shown in thedrawings and is herein described in detail. It should be understood,however, that the invention is not to be limited to the particular formdisclosed, but to the contrary, the invention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spiritof the appended claims.

1. A network system comprising a central control unit (CCU), a primary video display and audio output device (PDD) coupled to the CCU, a plurality of input audio-video devices coupled to the CCU, wherein the plurality of input audio-video devices include one or more analog audio-video devices and one or more digital audio-video devices, a means for generating a non-device specific graphical user interface (GUI) from the CCU of the network system and displaying the GUI on the PDD, wherein the GUI includes an input device selection menu and a device transport menu, and wherein the input device selection menu includes an icon corresponding to each of the one or more analog audio-video devices and the one or more digital audio-video devices, a means for receiving CCU specific user input commands corresponding to selection and operation of a plurality of input audio-video devices and network system functions at the CCU, a means for translating within the CCU the CCU specific user input commands received by the CCU to device specific output messages to operate the plurality of input audio-video devices, and a means for transmitting the output messages from the CCU to the plurality of input audio-video devices, wherein the output messages are transmitted to the one or more analog audio-video devices by directing an IR signal incorporating the output message from the CCU to the analog audio-video device, wherein the output messages are transmitted to the one or more digital audio-video devices over a bidirectional bus, and wherein the one or more analog audio-video devices being incapable of receiving or sending messages over a bidirectional bus.
 2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a means for directing an audio and/or video signal from a first source device of the plurality of input audio-video devices to a sink device of the plurality of input audio-video devices via device specific output messages transmitted from the CCU to the plurality of input audio-video devices while directing a signal from a second source device of the plurality of input audio-video devices to the PDD, wherein the first and second source devices and the sink device include one or more analog audio-video devices selected from the plurality of input audio-video devices of the network system.
 3. The system of claim 1 further comprising a means for maintaining within memory in the CCU a list of all input devices including the plurality of input audio-video devices, all input device connections, and all I/O ports within the network system.
 4. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for receiving comprises a means for detecting input command signals from a remote control device.
 5. The system of claim 4 further comprising the means for transmitting input command signals from a single control layer of the remote control device corresponding to the CCU for control of all input audio-video devices.
 6. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for translating comprises a means for transforming user input commands for analog devices into device appropriate messages comprising device specific IR code.
 7. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for translating comprises a means for transforming user input commands for digital devices into device appropriate messages formulated by device control modules corresponding to the digital devices.
 8. A network system comprising a central control unit (CCU), a primary video display and audio output device (PDD) coupled to the CCU, a plurality of input audio-video devices coupled to the CCU, wherein the plurality of input audio-video devices include one or more analog and one or more digital devices, a means for receiving user input commands at the CCU of the network system, wherein the input commands are CCU specific commands, and a means for translating within the CCU the user input commands received by the CCU to device specific output messages to drive the plurality of input audio-video devices via messages communicated from the CCU to the one or more digital audio-video devices over a bidirectional bus and via messages communicated from the CCU to the one or more analog audio-video devices via IR signals, wherein one or more analog audio-video devices being incapable of receiving or sending messages over a bidirectional bus.
 9. The system of claim 8 further comprising a means for directing an audio and/or video signal from a first source device of the plurality of input audio-video devices to a sink device of the plurality of input audio-video devices, via device specific output messages transmitted from the CCU to the plurality of input audio-video devices while directing a signal from a second source device to the PDD, wherein the first and second source devices and the sink device include one or more analog audio-video devices selected from the plurality of input audio-video devices of the network system.
 10. The system of claim 8 further comprising a means for performing all necessary device connecting and input switching without further user input to cease outputting the audio and video components of a first signal from a first audio-video input device to the PDD, switch video input connection and output the video component of a second signal on the PDD and direct the audio component of the second signal from the second audio-video input device to a third audio-video input device and output it therefrom, wherein the first, second and third audio-video input devices include one or more analog and one or more digital devices selected from the plurality of audio-video input devices of the network system.
 11. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for translating comprises a means for determining if the input command is a direct device action event or a menu related event.
 12. The system of claim 11 further comprising a means for determining whether the input command is a menu display event, a menu navigation event, or a menu device action event.
 13. The system of claim 12 further comprising a means for displaying a device selection menu on a display screen coupled to the CCU.
 14. A network system comprising a central control unit (CCU), a primary video display and audio output device coupled to the CCU, a plurality of input audio-video devices coupled to the CCU, wherein the plurality of input audio-video devices include one or more analog and one or more digital devices, a means for visually indicating on the primary video display and audit output device current system state by the display of graphical indicators including a current source device indicator, a current video sink device indicator and a current audio sink device indicator on the primary video display screen coupled to the CCU, a means for receiving CCU specific user input commands at the CCU, and a means for translating within the CCU the user input commands to device specific output messages to drive the plurality of input audio-video devices via messages communicated from the CCU to the one or more digital audio-video devices over a bidirectional bus and via messages communicated from the CCU to the one or more analog audio-video devices via IR signals, wherein one or more analog audio-video devices being incapable of receiving or sending messages over a bidirectional bus.
 15. The system of claim 14 wherein the means for visually indicating includes a means for visually indicating input source device options from the plurality of plurality of input audio-video devices.
 16. The system of claim 15 wherein the means for visually indicating includes a means for visually indicating audio sink device options from the plurality of input audio-video devices.
 17. The system of claim 16 wherein the means for visually indicating includes a means for visually indicating which network system device is the current video sink device.
 18. The system of claim 17 wherein the means for visually indicating includes a means for visually indicating which input audio-video device is the current input source device and which network system device is the current audio sink.
 19. The system of claim 18 wherein the means for visually indicating includes a means for visually indicating the existence of a peer-to-peer connection between input audio-video devices.
 20. The system of claim 18 wherein the means for visually indicating includes a means for visually indicating an input audio-video device is unavailable as an input source device or audio sink device.
 21. The system of claim 13 wherein the means for displaying of a device selection menu includes a means for visually indicating navigation location within the device selection menu.
 22. The system of claim 13 wherein the means for displaying of a device selection menu includes a means for representing devices within the system as graphical icons displayed within the device selection menu.
 23. The system of claim 22 wherein the device selection menu includes a device selection window, a video selection window, and an audio sink window.
 24. The system of claim 22 wherein the device selection menu includes a device connection window.
 25. The system of claim 22 further comprising a means for displaying a plurality of visual indicators corresponding to a disabled device, current source or sink device, and menu location.
 26. The system of claim 22 further comprising a means for displaying a plurality of visual indicators providing visual recognition of a disabled device, current source or sink device/current menu location, not current source or sink device/current menu location, current source or sink device/not current menu location, and not current source or sink device/not current menu location. 